The petitioners sought a faculty for the demolition of a redundant boiler room and chimney, which was described as a ‘carbuncle’ on this Grade I listed church, in order to allow the simplicity of the original architecture to be appreciated. The chancellor reviewed section 17 of the Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1991 and concluded that it did not apply in the circumstances of this case. He acknowledged that the proposed works were indeed ‘demolition’ but held that they were not ‘demolition of part of a church’ in the way that is envisaged in section 17, as the functioning of the church itself would be unaffected by the works of demolition. He held that when part of a church is to be demolished regard should be had to the purpose of section 17(2) of the Measure (the purposive approach) and to whether it is proportionate to invoke the procedure of section 17, bearing in mind the public interest in preserving ancient buildings on the one hand and the cost and effort of invoking section 17 where circumstances do not justify it (the proportionality principle). The faculty was granted. [RA]